Feb. 21, 2012 -

Traffic safety week applies to motorists as well as cyclists. Bicycle crashes impact the planning of roads we travel everyday. Listen to the tragic story of a local cyclist, and how accidents like his can be prevented.

Trey Hayworth was a victim of a bicycle crash. His life was taken prematurely at the age of 24. When asked about Trey, fellow cyclist and friend Patrick Shepherd got emotional: "Trey was ... [pauses, and reflects] ...Trey was a rare person." Trey was riding his bike when a tractor-trailer struck him at Railroad and Gaines street. Anyone who passes by will see Trey's ghost bike.

There is a community of local people who depend on their bike as their primary means of transportation. Patrick Shepherd is a member of that community. "Being a student I didn't have any vehicles. My primary form of transportation was my bicycle." Tallahassee has an estimated 791 bike commuters. That's 1% of it's population, and about two times higher than the U.S. city average.

According to Shepherd, riding your bicycle "can be a very dangerous mode of transportation." Trey's tragedy is proof that even savvy cyclists can spin into trouble. "Trey was one of the safest cyclists I knew," says Shepherd.

Trey was killed from a common crash called a right hook. That means he was riding his bike along the side of the road when a tractor trailer took a right turn and cut him off, taking his life.

DeWayne Carver confirms that tragedies like these impact current street redesign projects. "We always try to look at these types of crashes and sort of figure out what went wrong and how can you keep that from happening again." A shared lane marking is being used more frequently. This sign says bikers may use the full lane.
"So that makes it clear to the cyclist and the motorist that if you want to take that lane as a bicyclist you should do that," says Carver.

The lines aren't always so black and white, though. There's gray area, too when it comes to biking infrastructure. "Ostensibly, there's facilities there for bicyclists. There's signs and arrows on the roads. But if you're riding a bike up a road going maybe 10 mph uphill, people behind you who are trying to go 30 to 35, not only are they going to honk at you. They're going to cast insults at you," says Shepherd.

Carver shares Shepherd's concern. "Well now you've got everybody competing for the same space and when that happens, competition gets ugly sometimes," says Carver.

So would a bike lane be a better option? "Sometimes bike lanes are the right answers and sometimes it's not," explains Carver. He says that sometimes a bike lane has a tendency to force a cyclist to ride too close to the curb. This can get them into traps at intersections.

When a bike lane is the answer, how much taxpayer money are we talking?

DeWayne Carver says, "It's so deeply varied it's really very difficult to tease out exactly what the cost is. If you're resurfacing a road and you decided as a part of that resurfacing is to add a bike lane, and you're just doing it by re-striping, really the only extra cost is gonna be the cost of the paint to put down the bike lane symbol." Carver estimates this to cost about $1,600 per mile, merely 0.13% of the total cost of resurfacing a 4 lane roadway. The catch is: It's only cheap if you're already resurfacing the road.

Cyclist Marina Mertz says, "I think it's really important to know your rights as a cyclist." This is especially important at intersections, where cyclists and motorists don't always get along.

"Sometimes cyclists aren't always sure where they should be when approaching an intersection. When cyclists ride too close to the curb it basically can get them into traps," says Carver.

Cyclists have two options. Move into the car lane, or slow down enough to stop if cut off by a motorist. And what about the motorist? "Motorists are actually supposed to merge into that bike lane at the intersection and turn right. This keeps them from cutting off the cyclist," says Carver.

Carver says the most important thing is to scan for cyclists.
This study shows the top ways to reduce your risk as a cyclist: Travel with the flow of traffic; obey stoplights, and traffic signs; and travel on the ROAD, not the sidewalk. Following these tips could prevent tragedies like Trey Hayworth's.

Shepherd reflects on the memories of his friend, Trey. He says, "If you could describe some people as having a certain light about him, he was one of the most preeminent examples of that of anyone I've ever met in my life."